The world is divided on energy policy, primarily due to sharp disagreements between countries and regions (and within countries and regions) on what the energy economy of the future should look like. The shale gas revolution has had a major impact on the world energy economy and taken many policymakers and business leaders by complete surprise. In 2010, many believed that the world had passed “peak oil” and that, moving forward, we would be exploring ways to manage a scarcity of energy resources, while quickly investing in alternative energy to replace fossil fuels.

Today, carbon trading schemes and alternative energy investments are no longer attracting significant unsubsidized capital, and that investment shift, along with general uncertainty about the global economy, has created choppy deal activity in most of the world, as documented in this report.

M&A International’s specialists suggest stronger and more consistent M&A activity in the energy infrastructure space, accompanied by rising valuations. Oil and gas is being discovered in unexpected locations around the world, and investors have begun to consider a future of energy abundance. Looking ahead, oil and gas production will sharply increase, driven by aggregate global energy demand. An unprecedented amount of capital will be deployed to bring the mobility fuels, electricity and industrial feedstocks to market that are produced with the abundant new supplies of hydrocarbon commodities. Deal activity within the landscape is ramping up as strategic players look to invest excess funds in inorganic growth. Construction and engineering services (CES) companies are likely to consolidate their market positions to challenge the competition and grow through vertical integration.